Back in 2008, we reported an association between feeding raw diets to dogs and shedding of cephalosporin-resistant bacteria in dogs (that makes me feel old… one of many things that does these days, I guess). It didn’t get too much attention at the time, since the main focus of the study was on Salmonella,
High pressure pasteurization of raw pet food diets
Raw diets have been in the news a lot lately because of Salmonella contamination. It’s not surprising at all since bacteria like Salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter and Listeria are expected to be found in raw meat (that’s why we cook it). We know that dogs and cats fed raw meat are at increased risk of
Raw food recall…with a twist
I don’t usually write about recalls of raw pet foods because… well, finding Salmonella, E. coli or Listeria in raw meat is far from surprising (although certainly concerning). However, the recent recall of Stella & Chewy’s products because of Listeria contamination is noteworthy.
Why?
Because their food is treated with high pressure pasteurization (HPP).
Diamond Pet Foods Salmonella outbreak
After starting off like a simple recall of potentially Salmonella-contaminated dry pet food, the Diamond Pet Food problem has now expanded into a multistate outbreak of salmonellosis in humans linked to exposure to the contaminated pet food. At last count, there were 14 affected people from 9 US states, including 5 who required
Raw Q and A
While I hate to initiate another round of emails from raw diet supporters, here are a few of the more common questions that I get about these diets and some answers:
I use frozen raw food. Doesn’t freezing kill harmful microorganisms?
- No. Freezing is an effective way to eliminate most parasites (with an adequately
Raw food recall expanded
Nature’s Variety has expanded their recall based on more concerns about Salmonella contamination of their products. In a lot of ways, this makes no sense to me since you have to assume that raw meat is contaminated with Salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter and various other pathogens. That’s been clearly shown in studies of raw meat